When Microsoft first announced officially its plans for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, company officials said they'd eventually open the phone app store to users with phones running Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1. On November 16, the company made good on that commitment, making the announcement on the Windows Phone Team Blog.

When Microsoft first announced officially its plans for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, company officials said they'd eventually open the phone app store to users with phones running Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1.

On November 16, the company made good on that commitment, making the announcement on the Windows Phone Team Blog.

Microsoft is holding its invitation-only Mobius conference this week in Redmond. Only some of what is shown at that annual event is under non-disclosure. Will the Softies share info with the invited mobile bloggers and analysts about Windows Mobile 7.0 -- or anything else that will give folks hope for the future of the platform? Guess we'll find out in the coming days....

In the interim, I've taken a pass (again) on buying a Windows Mobile phone. Verizon still doesn't have any models I like (a good QWERTY keyboard is non-negotiable for me, as is a simple user interface that I don't need a manual to decipher). And Verizon folks at my local store are still advising users against going with Windows Mobile unless they absolutely must use that operating system, claiming a high rate of returns. Maybe there really are some more compelling Windows Mobile devices in the pipeline, but if there are, no one I've spoken with seems to know about them or be able to talk about them (publicly or privately)....

Thank You

By registering you become a member of the CBS Interactive family of sites and you have read and agree to the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Video Services Policy. You agree to receive updates, alerts and promotions from CBS and that CBS may share information about you with our marketing partners so that they may contact you by email or otherwise about their products or services.
You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time.